BASIC BIBLE STUDIES
# 012
The Birth Of Christ
On the opening page of the New Testament we read the following wonderful announcement: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was thus: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). For the Christian, nothing is more significant than the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and coronation of Christ. In this lesson we shall study His birth and some of the reasons for His birth.
Christ's birth of the virgin Mary was not the beginning of His existence; it was only the beginning of His human presence in this world. The inspired apostle John takes us back into the vast eternity of the past, before the physical universe existed, and says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (existed alongside God, hf), and the Word was God (was of the same divine nature as God, hf). He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him (the eternally existing Word), and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:1-3). (Note: For those wishing to further explore the matter of Christ's eternal existence and the fact that He was the agent through whom God created all things, we call attention to such passages as Genesis 1:26; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-4; et al).
Following the prologue to his Gospel, John then proceeds to make this startling statement: "And the Word (which had co-existed eternally with the Father, hf) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). The apostle Paul adds his inspired testimony to this tremendous truth when he says of Christ: "...who being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (literally, "selfishly clung to," hf), but emptied Himself (not of His divine nature, but of His heavenly glory, hf), taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:6-7). But how could such a phenomenon occur?
Luke tells us that an angel appeared to the virgin Mary and said: "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus" (Luke 1:31). Mary was perplexed by this announcement and asked the angel: "How can this be, since I do not know (a Biblical euphemism for sexual relations) a man?" (Luke 1:34). The angel then explained: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:36). The inspired apostle Matthew declares: "Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 'Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us' " (Matthew 1:22-23, quoting Isaiah 7:14). Thus, through the miracle of the virgin birth Christ entered the world of humanity.
The story of the birth of Christ is recorded in Luke 2:1-20. This beautiful story has been read for 20 centuries, and many have rejoiced to hear it. It is the story that never grows old. But rather than getting caught up in the physical aspects of Jesus' birth--the manger scene, the shepherds' visit, or the gifts of the wise men--we need to focus on why Christ came into the world.
In His encounter with Zacchaeus, Jesus succinctly stated the reason for His coming: "...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). When we reflect back on our previous four Studies ("Humanity's History Of Persistent Disobedience To God"), we immediately become impressed with the reality that everyone--both Jew and Gentile--stood in need of the salvation which Christ came to bring. Quoting from the 14th Psalm, Paul wrote: "There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all gone out of the way (the way of God, hf); they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one" (Romans 3:10-12).
Yet in spite of humanity's rebellion against Him, God is a God of mercy and grace who stands ready to forgive. "For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You" (Psalm 86:5). God had known from the beginning that mankind would rebel against Him; humanity's disobedience did not catch God "off guard." In fact, in keeping with His merciful nature, even from the beginning He had planned for humanity's redemption through Christ. Thus, "from before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4), "from the beginning of the ages" (Ephesians 3:9), from "before time began" (Titus 1:2), "according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began" (II Timothy 1:9), and "according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:11), God sent Christ into the world to save us from our sins!
Throughout the ages of the Old Testament, God had been gradually unfolding His eternal purpose to redeem mankind through Christ. Though the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of many things pertaining to Christ, they did not always comprehend what the Spirit was leading them say. "Of this salvation (the salvation brought by Christ, hf) the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow" (I Peter 1:10-11). Peter went on to say that these matters concerned "things which angels desire to look into" (verse 12).
But after centuries of preparation for the coming of Christ, and "when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman (the virgin Mary), born under the law (the law that had emanated from Sinai and delivered to Israel by Moses, see Study # 003, hf), to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:4-5). What a truly "one and only" kind of birth! "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!" (II Corinthians 9:15).
If this essay has blessed your life, please feel free to forward it to others who may benefit from it.
Hugh Fulford